Kinnear: We need another striker

Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear takes his seat before taking on Sunderland in their English Premier League football match at St James Park in Newcastle, northeast England on February 1, 2009

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Newcastle's new director of football Joe Kinnear will make signing a proven striker his first priority at the club.

Kinnear, who managed Newcastle for four-and-a-half months in the 2008-09 Premier League season, has been an unpopular appointment and did his chances of winning over the club's fans no good in an outspoken radio interview on Monday.

The 66-year-old mispronounced the name of several of Newcastle's players and told the St. James' Park faithful that he was more intelligent than them.

But while Newcastle's supporters are still to be won over by Kinnear's appointment, the former Wimbledon boss - who will work closely with chief scout Graham Carr, in support to manager Alan Pardew - will be working away on his first task at the club, which is to sign a regular goal-scorer.

"I think we need another striker," Kinnear told Talksport.

"Papiss Cisse was top scorer with 13 goals last season, the next best was Yohan Cabaye with six.

"There weren't enough goals from other players in and around the team for whatever reason. Alan (Pardew) will tell me why. I don't know the reasons, I only know the facts.

"But I will suggest we find somebody with the pedigree that guarantees you 15 goals a season."

Newcastle have already been linked with moves for their former striker Andy Carroll, who is now at Liverpool, and out-of-favour Aston Villa forward Darren Bent.

And Kinnear says he will approach Liverpool about a potential move for Carroll.

"I don't know where the (Darren) Bent link came from, and that's why this week we will sit down together and go through everything so we can get cracking and get players in," he said.

"I gave Andy Carroll his first home start. He's an exceptionally strong and talented player. But I don't know what the score is with the financial side of Andy. It's something I intend to investigate."